The present invention relates to an electronic system for a battery comprising at least one sealed accumulator.
An electrochemical cell or accumulator (these terms are equivalent) is a device for producing electricity in which chemical energy is converted into electrical energy. The chemical energy is constituted by electrochemically active compounds deposited on at least one side of electrodes arranged inside the accumulator. Electrical energy is produced by electrochemical reactions while the accumulator is discharging. The electrodes, arranged inside a container, are electrically connected to current output terminals providing electrical continuity between the electrodes and an electrical consumer with which the accumulator is associated.
The battery is designed to supply electrical energy to an external application; a charging circuit is consequently generally provided to which the battery can be connected in order to recharge the accumulators. In order to increase output power, it is known to associate several sealed accumulators in order to form a battery. The battery then comprises one or several parallel branches of accumulators connected in series. Charge and discharge management of the battery can then be arranged and monitored in order to balance charge and discharge of the various accumulators one with respect to the others. A control and monitoring circuit, which is more or less elaborate depending on applications, is generally provided in order to be associated with the battery.
For applications in which batteries are used for emergency purposes, it is important that the accumulators be charged to their full capacity prior to their use, which can occur at any point in time. Now, batteries are generally connected to a charger and then disconnected from the charger in order to be connected to the application for which they are intended. Thus, a battery providing back up power can be partially discharged when demands are made on it. In an application to aircraft, and in particular to drones, it is desirable for the emergency battery to be operational at its full capacity when needs arise.
Further, it is desirable that the battery providing back up power can supply electrical power to the application for which it is designed speedily and reliably when the source of main power supply to the application fails for some reason.